Stockton gay bar attracts a diverse patronage

Friday

In a county with more than 650,000 residents, there is said to be only one. Club Paradise, on Lower Sacramento Road in Stockton, is San Joaquin County's only known gay bar.

In a county with more than 650,000 residents, there is said to be only one.

Club Paradise, on Lower Sacramento Road in Stockton, is San Joaquin County's only known gay bar. It welcomes a mixed clientele on any given night, which can feature drink specials, karaoke or breaking in a new pair of shoes on the largest dance floor in Stockton.

In the more than 20 years the club has been in business, it's garnered the support of quite a few local devotees.

Bud, who refused to reveal his last name, has a special loyalty to Club Paradise.

Not only has he worked weekend shifts at the door for seven years, but the Stockton nightspot is where he met his partner 16 years ago. Aside from the club being the only gay bar in the area, Bud said he appreciated the collective openness of the people who frequent Club Paradise.

"You get all kinds of people - gay, straight, white, black, Mexican," he said, taking a drag off a cigarette while standing outside the club on Lower Sacramento Road. "It's really a melting pot."

Inside, patrons sat around the bar poring over karaoke song lists. One by one, they tried their hand at Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder and Alanis Morrissette.

University of the Pacific vocal students Jeff Oliveira and Michelle Godin laughed as they discussed the merits of one song over another. It was Godin's first visit to Club Paradise and, by all accounts, it was going well. She said the friendly atmosphere was a pleasant change from the little she's seen of Stockton's nightlife.

"I've had bad experiences in the Stockton bar scene, so I haven't been out much," the Oregon native said, recounting tales of hook-up college bars and less-than-savory patrons. "I like this place because I didn't walk in and think, 'Oh my God, drunk frat boys.' "

Oliveira said a lot of the straight friends he brings to Paradise, such as Godin, end up having a good time. He has been a regular since turning 21 in April.

In that time, the Fremont native has gotten to know the bartenders and other patrons and said he appreciates having a place to hang out where being gay is accepted.

Chris Davis, who's owned the club with brother Dan for the past four years, said he likes the comfortable atmosphere at Paradise and is happy to give the local gay community a place to be themselves.

"It doesn't matter what you wear. It doesn't matter what you look like," Davis said. "Any stereotypical things go out the door and you just have fun."

That's something Paul Cardenas, a 30-year-old Manteca native who moved back to the area after seven years in San Francisco, appreciates.

"It's like a second family, especially when you don't have any other connections," said Cardenas, who came to the club Tuesday with boyfriend Javier. "It's kind of a safe haven."

That feeling of openness and fun is what attracts people from as far away as Sacramento and San Francisco, bartender Terri Williams said. Chosen by a December Record readers' poll as one of San Joaquin County's favorite bartenders, Williams has met a lot of patrons in her more than two years at Club Paradise.

There is no typical customer - an average day can bring gay, straight and transgendered people - though most of them do have at least one thing in common. They're all looking to have fun in a friendly environment.

In Paradise many, like 26-year-old Brian Chen, find something even better than a home away from home.

"This is my home," Chen said before leaving the club for his house in Lodi. "Where I'm going now, that's my home away from home."